Today, Eric Adams, Mayor of New York City, announced that he will “cash” his first salary in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) with the funds he will receive tomorrow, Friday, January 21. The salary will not be paid directly in cryptocurrencies. Instead, Adams will first receive US dollars which he will then convert into digital currencies on Coinbase.
Due to the US Department of Labor and various state-level regulations, US-resident employees typically cannot be paid directly in cryptocurrencies. This is, in part, because the Internal Revenue Service classifies salary payments in fiat dollars as income, while items like stock-based or cryptocurrency-based compensation are classified as property.
Mayor Adams released the following statement regarding his choice of compensation:
“New York is the center of the world, and we want it to be the center of cryptocurrency and other financial innovation. Being at the forefront of that innovation will help us create jobs, improve our economy, and continue to be a magnet for talent from everyone”.
Matt Fraser, NYC CTO, added:
“This step taken by the mayor is an example of how we can provide citizens, through technology, with a more diverse set of options to manage their finances.”